Fans applaud Eusebio's coffin on Benfica's pitch

Thousands of fans have applauded the coffin of Portuguese football legend Eusebio as it lay on the centre spot at Benfica's Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. Three days of moruning have been declared after his death yesterday.

Portugual football great Eusebio, acknowledged as one of soccer's greatest ever strikers, has died aged 71.

Portugal's Eusebio sends England goalkeeper Gordon Banks the wrong way in the 1966 World Cup. England won the game 2-1. Credit: PA Photos/PA Archive/Press Association Images

The 'Black Panther', whose full name was Esuebio da Silva Ferreira was born in Mozambique but made his name as a fearsome striker for Portugal at the 1966 World Cup in England, where he top-scored with nine goals to help his team finish third.

He won the European Cup with Benfica in 1962 and was named European Footballer of the Year in 1965.

The Portuguese sports daily A'Bola said Eusebio had died of a cardiac arrest in the early hours of Sunday morning.